Process and composition for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from industrial process fluids

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for the prevention and removal of H 2 S and/or other sulfhydryl compounds and iron sulfide deposits from gas and/or liquid streams in industrial process systems. Formulations comprising aldehydes, aldehyde donors, and/or aldehyde stabilizers, excluding triazines, in combination with the reaction product of an amino acid and a hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphos-phonium salt, and optionally a quaternary ammonium compound and/or one or more N-hydrogen compounds such as 5,5-dialkylhydantoin or amines, are rapidly and sustainedly scavenging H 2 S originating from process and/or microbial sources. The formulations possess high capacities for H 2 S removal and are relatively pH-insensitive.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 of PCT/EP2012/068592, filed Sep. 21, 2012,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/538,265, filed Sep. 23, 2011, the contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to chemical compositions and methods forthe rapid and sustained prevention, control, and removal of sulfhydrylcompounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, and its corresponding corrosionproducts from industrial process streams. It further relates to the useof chemical compositions and methods for reducing both the oxidantdemand by sulfhydryl compounds in industrial process streams as well asthe corrosion rates in said systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The prevention, removal, and remediation of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) andother sulfhydryl compounds from liquid or gaseous industrial processstreams is a challenge in a wide range of industries. The presence ofH₂S poses significant environmental and safety concerns to personnel andoperators. This is due in part to the fact that H₂S is highly flammable,highly toxic when inhaled (8 h of exposure at 100 ppm has been reportedto cause death while levels of 1,000 ppm can cause death withinminutes), highly corrosive, and malodorous. Further, corrosion and scaledeposits resulting from the presence of hydrogen sulfide in contact withmetallic surfaces, such as carbon steel pipes can further disruptionindustrial operations via the plugging of pipes, valves, nozzles, andthe like.

In the oil and gas industry, the removal of H₂S is important for thetransport and storage of crude reserves as well as meeting standards fordownstream refining, an important consideration due to sulfide poisoningof cracking catalysts and transmission of gas. Further, in both therefining industry and geothermal power industry, cooling tower processwater can contain moderate to high levels of H₂S, both causingsignificant solids development as well as increasing the level ofoxidant demand so as to make oxidants unviable options for microbialcontrol in these systems.

Nonetheless, the challenge of removing and/or reducing H₂S from processstreams has been addressed with a variety of different technologies.Common techniques utilize either absorption with a solvent or solidphase material with subsequent regeneration of the absorbent, orreaction with a suitable substance or substrate that produces acorresponding reaction product. This reactivity has often involved thereaction of H₂S with various types of aldehydes. For instance, U.S. Pat.No. 1,991,765 was an early example describing the reaction offormaldehyde with hydrogen sulfide to form an insoluble product, lateridentified as the sulfur heterocycle 1,3,5-trithiane.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,426,318 discloses a method of inhibiting the corrosivityof natural gas and oil containing soluble sulfides by utilizing analdehyde such as formaldehyde.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,459,852 discloses a method for removing sulfidecompounds with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones such as acrolein or3-buten-2-one as the reactive compounds. Nonetheless, acrolein is ahazardous, highly toxic chemical limiting extensive use in a widervariety of applications.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,127 describes a method for reducing H₂S in a neutralto alkaline aqueous medium (pH ˜7-9) with the formation of solids, aproblem when using formaldehyde, using glyoxal and glyoxal/formaldehydemixtures without the formation of solids. However, theglyoxal/formaldehyde mixtures exhibited slower rates of H₂S scavengingthan glyoxal alone.

European patent application EP 1 624 089 A1 describes the use ofmixtures of glyoxal with a metal nitrate compound in conjunction withtriazines or N-chlorosuccinimide for preventing H₂S odor generation,particularly that being microbial in origin, but not being biocidal.This reduction in H₂S was reported to reduce corrosion as well. The useof the N-chlorosuccinimide was for the purpose of maintaining aparticular redox potential and intended to oxidize or consume residualH₂S. Maintenance of a halogen residual after H₂S scavenging is notdescribed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,512 describes a method whereby an alkanolamine andan aldehyde are combined to form a triazine in order to scavenge H₂S.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,707 describes a composition wherein a diamine and analdehyde donor are utilized to scavenge H₂S from liquid or gaseousprocess streams.

The composition forms water soluble polymers but does not claim toimpact iron sulfide scale.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,438,877 discloses a method for H₂S removal utilizingmixed triazine derivatives for improved scavenging. The mixture improvesthe overall scavenging capacity of triazines, but whether completeremoval is achieved for a theoretically stoichiometric amount is notreported. However, it is known that typically triazines, such ashydroxyethyl triazines, do not scavenge H₂S stoichiometrically (i.e., 3mol of H₂S per mol triazine) due to formation of cyclic thiazines thatdo not further react with H₂S (Buhaug, J.; Bakke, J. M. “ChemicalInvestigations of Hydroxyethyl-triazine and Potential New Scavengers”,AIChE 2002 Spring National Meeting).

In addition, methods and compositions have been described for thetreatment of iron sulfide deposits. For instance, U.S. Pat. No.6,986,358 discloses a method for combining an amine withtris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine in a reaction at a pH of 8 to complex anddissolve deposits of iron sulfide. Similarly, the combination of ammoniawith bis-(tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium) sulfate forms atetradentate ligand that complexes iron (Jeffrey, J. C.; Odell, B.;Stevens, N.; Talbot, R. E. “Self Assembly of a Novel Water SolubleIron(II) Macrocyclic Phosphine Complex fromTetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium Sulfate and Iron(II) AmmoniumSulfate”: Chem. Commun., 2000, 101-102. Further, WO 02/08127 A1 combinesthe concept of using an amine, carboxylic acid amine salt,aminophosphonic acid, or ammonia in combination withbis-(tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium) sulfate ortris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine to inhibit and reduce the amount of ironsulfide deposits in a water system.

While multiple methods have been developed for scavenging H₂S andsulfhydryl compounds from industrial process systems, a high capacity,fast reacting method for reducing hydrogen sulfide, mitigating sourcesof hydrogen sulfide, such as microbiological sources, and removingproducts of hydrogen sulfide corrosion, such as iron sulfide, whichperforms at similar levels over a wide pH range and does reduces solidsformation is still desired. Further, it is desirable to be able to usethe chemical in industrial process systems that have H₂S present viaeither process leaks or influent, such as produced water storage tanks,fracturing fluids, cooling tower refineries, and geothermal coolingtowers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the need to prevent, inhibit, and remediate H₂S andits scale deposits from multiple sources, the present invention providesa composition obtained by combining at least one aldehyde or aldehydedonor that is not a triazine with the reaction product of an amino acidand a hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium salt and,optionally, a quaternary ammonium salt or amine. Preferably, the pH ofthe composition is adjusted between about 1 and about 9, more preferablybetween about 2 and about 7, and most preferably between about 3 andabout 6.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method of preventing theformation of and reducing the amount of iron sulfide in an industrialwater or process circuit, such as an oil and gas pipeline or geothermalcooling tower. The inventive method comprises adding the compositiondescribed above to inhibit, disperse, and dissolve iron sulfide depositswithin an industrial process circuit.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method of preventing theformation of hydrogen sulfide and, consequently, iron sulfide in anindustrial water or process circuit due to microbial contamination. Theinventive method comprises adding the composition described above toinhibit or reduce the growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria.

In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one aldehyde orformaldehyde releasing compound is selected from the group consisting ofhydroxymethylhydantoins, bis(hydroxymethyl)hydantoins, imidazolidinylurea, glyoxal, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and acrolein.

In one embodiment of the invention, the amino acid is combined with thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound at acidic pHprior to combination with the aldehyde or aldehyde donor.

The hydroxymethylhydantoins are preferably selected from the groupconsisting of 1-hydroxymethyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin,3-hydroxymethyl-5,5-dimethylhydantoin,1,3-bis(hydroxymethyl)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin, and mixtures thereof.

The amino acids may be α-amino acids or other amino acids such as β- orω-amino acids. With the exception of glycine, α-amino acids can exist intwo or more stereoisomeric forms, namely the L-form (which is the formusually found in proteins) and the D-form. For the purpose of thisinvention all stereoisomers as well as their (racemic or non-racemic)mixtures are suitable and here and in the following the plain names ofthe amino acids are meant to comprise all stereoisomers as well as theirmixtures. Particularly useful amino acids are those selected from thegroup from the group consisting of glycine, lysine, alanine, histidine,aspartic acid, glutamic acid, serine, threonine, asparagine, glutamine,cysteine, proline, valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine,phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, and 12-aminolauric acid.

In another embodiment of the composition of the present invention, aquaternary ammonium compound or amine can be combined with the aminoacid and hydroxymethyl phosphine or phosphonium salt reaction productand aldehyde or aldehyde donor wherein the quaternary ammonium compoundhas a formula of (R¹R²R³R⁴N⁺)_(n)X^(n−) wherein R¹, R², R³, and R⁴ areeach independently an alkyl group having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms or anarylalkyl group having from 7 to 30 carbon atoms, and X^(n−) s a mono-or polyvalent anion such as a halide, a C₂₋₂₀ mono- or dicarboxylate, aborate, nitrate, bicarbonate, carbonate, sulfamate, a sulfonate,sulfate, or a phosphate.

Alkyl groups are any linear, branched or cyclic saturated hydrocarbylgroups having the stated number of carbon atoms. Arylalkyl groups arealkyl groups substituted with an aryl group, preferably with a phenylgroup, such as benzyl (phenylmethyl) or phenylethyl.

Halides are fluorides, chlorides, bromides or iodides, preferablychlorides or bromides.

C₂₋₂₀ mono- or dicarboxylates are anions derived from saturated orunsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids having 2 to 20 carbon atoms,such as acetate, propionate, butyrate, pentanoate, hexanoate, octanoate,decanoate, dodecanoate (laurate), tetradecanoate (myristate),hexadecanoate (palmitate), octadecanoate (stearate), oleate, linolate,oxalate, malonate, succinate, glutarate, adipate, 1,8-octanedioate,1,10-decanedioate, 1,12-dodecanedioate and the like.

Borates may be monoborates (containing the BO₃ ³⁻ anion) or polyboratessuch as di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, or octaborates.

Sulfonates may be alkanesulfonates, such as methanesulfonate ortrifluoromethanesulfonate, or arenesulfonates, such as benzene- ortoluenesulfonate.

Sulfates may be “neutral” sulfates or “acid” sulfates (hydrogensulfates,bisulfates).

Similarly, phosphates may be orthophosphates (PO₄ ³⁻),hydrogenphosphates (HPO₄ ²⁻) or dihydrogenphosphates (H₂PO₄ ⁻).

The substituted N-hydrogen compound is preferably selected from thegroup consisting of p-toluenesulfonamide, 5,5-dialkylhydantoins,methanesulfonamide, barbituric acid, 5-methyluracil, imidazoline,pyrrolidone, morpholine, ethanolamine, acetanilide, acetamide,N-ethylacetamide, phthalimide, benzamide, succinimide, N-methylurea,acetylurea, methyl allophanate, methyl carbamate, phthalohydrazide,pyrrole, indole, formamide, N-methylformamide, dicyanodiamide, ethylcarbamate, 1,3-dimethylbiuret, methylphenylbiuret,4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolidinone, 6-methyluracil, 2-imidazolidinone,ethyleneurea, 2-pyrimidone, azetidin-2-one, 2-pyrrolidone, caprolactam,phenylsulfinimide, phenylsulfinimidylamide, diaryl- ordialkylsulfinimides, isothiazoline-1,1-dioxide, hydantoin, glycinamide,creatine, glycoluril, C₁₋₂₀ alkylamines, (C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)-alkylenediamines,or (C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)-alkylenetriamines.

The hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound ispreferably selected from the group consisting oftris-(hydroxymethyl)phosphine, tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphoniumchloride, bis-[tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium]sulfate,1,2-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)phosphino]benzene,1,ω-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)-phosphino]alkylenes wherein the alkylene is aC₁₋₆ methylene chain, tris(hydroxymethyl)(C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)phosphoniumhalides, and tris(hydroxymethyl)(aryl-C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)-phosphonium halides.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention effectively inhibits the generation of anddecreases the levels of hydrogen sulfide and sources of hydrogensulfide, such as sulfate reducing bacteria, and iron sulfide deposits inindustrial process systems. In contrast to previously disclosed methods,such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,358, the present inventioncan be performed effectively at both acidic and basic pH when thecomposition is contacted with the industrial process stream.

The compositions of this invention are obtained by initially generatingthe reaction product of an amino acid and a hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphosphonium salt at acid pH via the direct combination ofthe amino acid with the hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphosphonium salt at a molar ratio amino acid/hydroxymethylphosphine of 1:1 to 12:1. Although such products have been previouslydescribed for biomedical motifs in the reaction with amino acids andpeptides (Berning, D. E.; Katti, K. V.; Barnes, C. L.; Volkert, W. A.“Chemical and Biomedical Motifs of the Reactions ofHydroxymethylphosphines with Amines, Amino Acids, and Model Peptides”,J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1999, 121, 1658-1664), the efficiency of suchreaction products in dissolving iron sulfide has not been previouslyreported. Surprisingly, it has been found that combinations of thesereaction products with hydrogen sulfide scavengers and, optionally,quaternary ammonium compounds or amines result in more rapid ironsulfide dissolution than previously disclosed compositions (U.S. Pat.No. 6,986,358), as well as rapidly prevent the formation of residualiron sulfide scale within a system. A particularly useful aspect of thepresent invention is the avoidance of polymeric precipitates upon mixingthe amino acid and the hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphosphonium salt, as observed with ammonia and its salts(U.S. Pat. No. 6,986,358).

The amino acid and hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphoniumsalt reaction product is then combined with either an aldehyde oraldehyde donor, such as a methylolhydantoin, and optionally combinedwith a quaternary ammonium compound or amine. The preferred pH of thecomposition is adjusted between about 1 and about 9, more preferablybetween about 2 and about 7, and most preferably between about 3 andabout 6 with an appropriate acid or base, such as hydrochloric acid orsodium hydroxide, if necessary.

Quaternary ammonium compound of the general formula of(R¹R²R³R⁴N⁺)_(n)X^(n−), wherein R¹, R², R³, and R⁴ are eachindependently an alkyl or arylalkyl group having from 1 to 30 carbonatoms and X^(n−) is a mono- or polyvalent anion such as a halide, aC₂₋₂₀ mono- or dicarboxylate, a borate, nitrate, bicarbonate, carbonate,sulfamate, a sulfonate, sulfate, or a phosphate are particularlyefficacious. Examples include didecyldimethylammonium chloride,didecyldimethylammonium carbonate, didecyldimethylammonium phosphate,didecyldimethylammonium sulfamate, didecyldimethylammonium citrate,(C₁₀₋₁₈ alkyl)-dimethyl-benzylammonium chloride, or (C₁₀₋₁₈alkyl)-dimethyl-benzylammonium carbonate. Commercially availableproducts include Bardac™ 2280, Carboquat™ 250 WT, Barquat™ MB-80, andBarquat™ 50-28, all available from Lonza Inc, Allendale, N.J.

The compositions used in the method of the present invention areparticularly suitable for scavenging H₂S and preventing iron sulfidedeposition. Molar ratios of the composition to the amount of H₂S presentin the system are preferably from 0.25:1 to 100:1, more preferably from1:1 to 60:1, most preferably from 4:1 to 30:1 of the aldehyde oraldehyde donor, preferably from 0.25:1 to 50:1, more preferably from 1:1to 30:1, most preferably from 2:1 to 10:1, for the reaction product ofan amino acid with the hydroxymethyl phosphonium salt, and preferablyfrom 0.25:1 to 100:1, more preferably from 1:1 to 60:1, most preferablyfrom 4:1 to 30:1 of the quaternary ammonium or N-Hydrogen compound, ormixture thereof. Further, these compositions may optionally compriseadditional additives such as surfactants, dispersants, demulsifiers,scale inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, anti-foaming agents, oxygenscavengers such as ascorbic or erythorbic acid, and flocculants.

In a preferred application of the method of the present invention theindustrial process system is selected from the group consisting of anoil and gas production system, a produced water storage tank, an oilstorage tank, an oil or gas transmission pipeline, ballast water tank,or oil transportation tank.

In another preferred application of the method of the present inventionthe industrial process system is a cooling tower such as a refinery orgeothermal cooling tower.

In still another preferred application of the method of the presentinvention the industrial process system is a fuel storage tank.

In still another preferred application of the method of the presentinvention the industrial process system is an oil storage tank ortransport system.

In still another preferred application of the method of the presentinvention the industrial process fluid is a fracturing fluid or adrilling mud.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention thealdehyde or aldehyde donor, the reaction product of thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound and aminoacid, and, optionally, the quaternary ammonium compound or N-hydrogencompound, are combined prior to addition to the system.

In another preferred embodiment of the method of the present inventionthe aldehyde or aldehyde donor and the reaction product of thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound and aminoacid are combined prior to addition to the system and the quaternaryammonium compound or N-hydrogen compound is added separately to thesystem.

In still another preferred embodiment of the method of the presentinvention the aldehyde or aldehyde donor and the quaternary ammoniumcompound or N-hydrogen compound are combined separately from thereaction product of the hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphosphonium compound and amino acid and each combinedproduct is added separately to the system.

The following examples are given to illustrate the present invention. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the specified conditions or details described in theexamples.

Example 1

In order to demonstrate the H₂S scavenging ability of products of thepresent invention, 400 g of a model process water system at 400 ppmalkalinity was deoxygenated with a stoichiometric amount of oxygenscavenger (ammonium bisulfite) and the pH adjusted with either HCl,NaOH, or CO₂. Water (400.0 g) was charged with a NaSH standard in orderto achieve a H₂S concentration of about 50 ppm, followed by a solutioncontaining 2.00 g of a 70% solution of1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin. A solution of a compositionaccording to the present invention was prepared by combining glycine(0.11 mol) with bis[(tetrakishydroxymethyl)phosphonium]sulfate (0.018mol) and water (0.92 mol). 5.02 g of the resulting solution was combinedwith an equivalent weight of 70% (w/w) solution of methylolhydantoin anddosed such that the corresponding hydrogen sulfide solution containedthe corresponding amount of methylolhydantoin scavenger. Reactionprogress was monitored by measuring the residual H₂S at specified timeintervals via titration.

The % residual H₂S levels are shown as a function of pH versus otherknown chemical technologies. The high performance capacity andpH-insensitive performance of the products of the present invention arereadily observed.

TABLE 1 pH Time (min) 5 7.2 8.4 9.4 0 100% 100% 100% 100% 2.5  86%  90% 88%  91% 5  86%  89%  88%  94% 15  71%  77%  77%  81% 60  46%  50%  38% 35% 90  25%  32%  27%  34% 125 — —  13% — 150  19%  14% — — 180 —  11%—  11%

Example 2

In order to demonstrate the H₂S scavenging ability of products of thepresent invention, 400 g of a model process water system at 400 ppmalkalinity was deoxygenated with a stoichiometric amount of oxygenscavenger and adjusted with either NaOH or CO₂ to a pH of 9.4. The waterwas charged with a NaSH standard to achieve ˜50 ppm H₂S, followed by ascavenger solution containing 2.00 g of a 70% solution containing1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin, prepared as described in Example 1(molar ratio of scavenger to H₂S:14:1). For comparison, triazine H₂Sscavenging was also evaluated under similar conditions at equivalentlevels. Reaction progress was monitored by measuring the residual H₂S atspecified time intervals via titration. The higher performance capacityproducts of the present invention are readily observed.

TABLE 2 Present Time (min) Invention Triazine 0 100% 100% 2.5  91%  91%5  94%  89% 15  81%  98% 30  61%  97% 60  35% — 90  34% — 125 —  83% 180 11% —

Example 3

In order to demonstrate the superior iron sulfide dissolution ability ofthe products of the present invention, the time to complete dissolutionof iron sulfide was compared. To a 10 mL vial containing an iron filingin 1% NaCl, an HCl and NaSH standard solution was added to generate 480ppm H₂S at pH ˜5. Immediate formation of iron sulfide was observed. Theprecipitate was treated with the reaction product of 0.11 mol glycinewith 0.018 mmol bis-[tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium]sulfate (6:1molar ratio) in 0.92 mol of water, prepared in a manner analogous tothat described in Berning, D. E.; Katti, K. V.; Barnes, C. L.; Volkert,W. A. “Chemical and Biomedical Motifs of the Reactions ofHydroxymethylphosphines with Amines, Amino Acids, and Model Peptides”,J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1999, 121, 1658-1664. 5.02 g of this solution wascombined with 5.05 g of a 70% solution containing1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin. For comparison, the rate of ironsulfide dissolution of the reaction of ammonia withbis-[tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium]sulfate was compared.

TABLE 3 Time to Complete Dissolution Present Invention NH₃ + THPS (10%as product) (10% as Product) 7.0 min 17.5 min

Example 4

In order to demonstrate the prevention of generation of iron sulfidedeposits via chemical sources by compositions of the present invention,1.0 mL multiple concentrations of the product as prepared in Example 3were added to 9 mL of 1% salinity water in oxygen-free vials containingiron filings for iron sulfide generation upon addition of a sulfidesource (target 500 ppm as H₂S). As shown in Table 4, iron sulfide wasgenerated immediately in the control sample upon addition of sulfide,whereas complete scavenging of H₂S and rapid dissolution of iron sulfidewas observed at multiple concentrations of formulations of the presentinvention.

TABLE 4 Formulation Concentration Observation 10% 4% 2% 1% 0.85% 0% FeSformed No No No No Yes Yes upon H₂S addition? Reduced Yes Yes Yes YesYes — FeS relative to Control? Solution Clear Clear Clear Clear Gray/Black after 1 min Black Solution Clear Clear Clear Clear Slight Blackafter 8 min Gray Haze

Example 5

In order to demonstrate the ability of compositions of the presentinvention to prevent FeS formation, a solution was prepared viacombination of 0.11 mol of glycine with 0.018 mol ofbis((tetrakishydroxymethyl)phosphonium) sulfate and 0.92 mol of water.3.77 g of this solution was combined with 3.78 g of a solutioncontaining methylolhydantoin (mixture containing1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin andmonomethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoins) and 2.54 g of a 70% solution ofdimethyldidecylammonium chloride. 1 mL of the resulting solution wasadded to 9 mL of a 1% brine solution containing an iron nail. 0.15 mL of1 N HCl was added, followed by 0.20 mL of a 39,500 ppm NaSH solution andcompared to a control sample without the solution. No FeS was formed inthe solution containing 1% of a mixture of the present invention,whereas FeS was formed in the control.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for preventing the generation of,and/or removing hydrogen sulfide and/or sulfhydryl compounds and theircorrosion products, including iron sulfide, in an industrial processfluid or system, which comprises adding to the industrial process fluidor system an effective amount of a composition comprising: (i) at leastone aldehyde or aldehyde donor that is not a triazine (ii) the reactionproduct of a hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compoundand an amino acid and, optionally, (iii) a quaternary ammonium orN-hydrogen compound or mixture thereof, wherein thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound and theamino acid are in a molar ratio of 1:1 to 1:12, and wherein the molarratio of the aldehyde or aldehyde donor to the reaction product of thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound and theamino acid is from 0.02:1 to 100:1.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe composition includes the quaternary ammonium compound and has theformula (R¹R²R³R⁴N⁺)_(n)X^(n−) wherein R¹, R², R³, and R⁴ are eachindependently an alkyl group having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms or anarylalkyl group having from 7 to 30 carbon atoms, and X^(n−) is a mono-or polyvalent anion selected from the group consisting of a halide, aC₂₋₂₀ mono- or dicarboxylate, a borate, nitrate, bicarbonate, carbonate,sulfamate, a sulfonate, sulfate, and a phosphate.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the molar ratio of the aldehyde or aldehyde donor toquaternary ammonium or N-hydrogen compound or mixture thereof is from0.1:1 to 100:1.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the compositionincludes the N-hydrogen compound and is selected from the groupconsisting of p-toluenesulfonamide, 5,5-dialkylhydantoins,methanesulfonamide, barbituric acid, 5-methyluracil, imidazoline,pyrrolidone, morpholine, ethanolamine, acetanilide, acetamide,N-ethylacetamide, phthalimide, benzamide, succinimide, N-methylurea,N-acetylurea, methyl allophanate, methyl carbamate, phthalohydrazide,pyrrole, indole, formamide, N-methylformamide, dicyanodiamide, ethylcarbamate, 1,3-dimethylbiuret, methylphenylbiuret,4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolidinone, 6-methyluracil, 2-imidazolidinone,ethyleneurea, 2-pyrimidone, azetidin-2-one, 2-pyrrolidone, caprolactam,phenylsulfinimide, phenylsulfinimidylamide, diarylsulfinimides,dialkylsulfinimides, isothiazoline-1,1-dioxide, hydantoin, glycinamide,creatine, glycoluril, C₁₋₂₀ alkylamines, (C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)alkylenediamines,and (C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)alkylenetriamines.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe at least one aldehyde or aldehyde donor is selected from the groupconsisting of hydroxymethylhydantoins, bis(hydroxymethyl)hydantoins,imidazolidinyl urea, glyoxal, formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde,N-methylolurea, and acrolein.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound is selectedfrom the group consisting of tris-(hydroxymethyl)phosphine,tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride;bis-[tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium]sulfate,1,2-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)-phosphino]benzene,1,ω-bis[bis(hydroxymethyl)phosphino]alkylenes wherein the alkylene is aC₁₋₆ methylene chain, tris(hydroxymethyl)(C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)phosphoniumhalides, and tris(hydroxymethyl)(aryl-C₁₋₂₀ alkyl)phosphonium halides.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the amino acid is selected from thegroup consisting of glycine, lysine, alanine, histidine, aspartic acid,glutamic acid, serine, threonine, asparagine, glutamine, cysteine,proline, valine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, phenylalanine,tyrosine, tryptophan, 12-aminolauric acid, and mixtures thereof.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the industrial process system is selectedfrom the group consisting of an oil and gas production system, aproduced water storage tank, an oil storage tank, an oil or gastransmission pipeline, ballast water tank, or oil transportation tank.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the industrial process system is acooling tower.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the industrial processsystem is a fuel storage tank.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein theindustrial process system is an oil storage tank or transport system.12. The method of claim 1, wherein the industrial process fluid is afracturing fluid or a drilling mud.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereinthe aldehyde or aldehyde donor, the reaction product of thehydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound and aminoacid, and, optionally, the quaternary ammonium compound or N-hydrogencompound, are combined prior to addition to the system.
 14. The methodof claim 1, wherein the aldehyde or aldehyde donor and the reactionproduct of the hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphoniumcompound and amino acid are combined prior to addition to the system andthe quaternary ammonium compound or N-hydrogen compound is addedseparately to the system.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thealdehyde or aldehyde donor and the quaternary ammonium compound orN-hydrogen compound are combined separately from the reaction product ofthe hydroxymethylphosphine or hydroxymethylphosphonium compound andamino acid and each combined product is added separately to the system.16. The method of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of the aldehyde oraldehyde donor to the reaction product of a hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphos-phonium compound and an amino acid is from 0.1:1 to20:1.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the molar ratio of the aldehydeor aldehyde donor to the reaction product of a hydroxymethylphosphine orhydroxymethylphos-phonium compound and an amino acid is from 0.5:1 to4:1.
 18. The method of claim 3, wherein the molar ratio of the aldehydeor aldehyde donor to quaternary ammonium or N-hydrogen compound ormixture thereof is from 0.2:1 to 20:1.
 19. The method of claim 3,wherein the molar ratio of the aldehyde or aldehyde donor to quaternaryammonium or N-hydrogen compound or mixture thereof is from 0.5:1 to 6:1.